The Huntsman: Winter's War - 1 smile

The costumes and special effects are pretty spectacular and the only reason to see "The Huntsman: Winter's War," the sequel to 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman. The rest of the movie is silly and boring. With its reported $115 million budget, you'd think there would be a better script. No such luck. Instead, plenty was spent on an ice palace and its arctic environs as well as special effects involving liquid gold, the legendary Magic Mirror, Queen Ravenna's (Charlize Theron) transformations and her sister, Queen Freya's (Emily Blunt) icy finger spells. Kristen Stewart does not reprise her role as Snow White, so the focus shifts to the Huntsman, Chris Hemsworth's character. We learn that his village is invaded and all adults killed and the children taken captive by the Ice Queen (Blunt). There, along with Sara (played as an adult by Jessica Chastain), they are taught to be warriors. There's a boring middle section with dwarves that does little to advance the plot, but provide plenty of opportunity for tasteless little people jokes. Theres no character development and little plot, which proves that a lack of good story telling can't be disguised with good special effects. Skip this one.